Kennedy

by Theodore C. Sorensen

A powerfully moving biography of JFK by one of his closest friends and advisors. Sorensen's work was first published in 1965 when the wounds caused by the assassination had barely time to heal. It has remained a classic and is indispensable for an evaluation of Kennedy and his place in history.

Genres: Biography, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, Biography Memoir

784 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Theodore Chaiken "Ted" Sorensen was best known as President John F. Kennedy's special counsel, advisor, and speechwriter.

Reviews

[Stefania Dzhanamova · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A "member of the opposition" once said that he had read Ted Sorensen's new book, Kennedy, and that he did not like it very much. The feisty Sorensen replied that he was surprised because "I didn't know you could read."
In the Kennedy administration, Ted Sorensen, who was an attorney, poltical adviser, and main speechwriter in the Kennedy administration, occupied a unique position in the White House. He wrote major speeches for the President, but was also a trusted member of his inner circle. John F. Kennedy had plenty of yes-men. He sometimes needed a no-man and relied on the sharp-tongued Sorensen to be just that in times of foreign and domestic crises. In the judgement of Bobby Kennedy, the adviser played this role well. "If it was difficult," the Attorney General said, "Ted Sorensen was brought in."
For example, Sorensen recalled drafting a vital letter to Nikita Khruschev during the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the hawks in the American government were pressuring the President into actions that might have led to an all-out nuclear war. Much better known to the general public is the inaugural address question: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," which he was credited with.

Ted Sorensen was an unapologetic admirer of President Kennedy and his inner circle, and this shows in his work. He describes Kennedy as "one of the most extraordinary men of our land and our time" and expresses his desire "to dwell on the rich and lasting legacy he has left for you and for me and for us, a legacy of hope." Understandably, a man who stated that the President's assassination had traumatized him for life could not and did not write a biography of Kennedy that paints him with all his warts.

Just like the rest of Kennedy's close advisers, Sorensen believed that President Eisenhower's foreign policy establishment was slow-moving, overly reliant on John Foster Dulles's brinksmanship and massive retaliation, and complacent. They feared that after eight years of stagnation the State Department would be unable to switch to a new vision of international affairs. The young President-elect was determined to control foreign policy through a White House and National Security Council that matched his youth and energy. With Washington and Moscow struggling for the loyalty of the Third World, Kennedy promoted freedom over Communism. "Let every nation know," declared he in his inaugural speech. "whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
However, despite Sorensen's generous verdict in favor of his President, Kennedy's foreign policy undeniably was a mixed legacy. Yes, he did handle the Cuban missile crisis brilliantly, saving the world from potential nuclear annihilation, negotiate a test ban treaty with Khruschev, and became an iconic figure of peace and hope for people all over the world. Yet he also approved the Bay of Pigs invasion plan, which while sold to him by Dick Bissel and Allen Dulles from the CIA in the most favorable light possible, glaringly portended disaster of international scope; and his handling of the Vietnam issue produced much confusion. Although he was preparing for complete withdrawal of American personnel from South Vietnam, publicly he kept defending US commitment there. This allowed his successor, Lyndon Johnson, to justify his policy of escalation to a general war. He had pledged to follow in the steps of his predecessor, but the general public knew only those "steps" Kennedy shared publicly, which were all for the deepening of American involvement.

Sorensen's account of all these major events is comprehensive, but lacks the insight and historical context I was expecting from a Kennedy-administration insider. Very little attention is paid, for instance, to one of the most important foreign policy intiatives – the Allience for Progress, a massive foreign aid program for Latin America. In March 1961, the President proposed a ten-year plan for Latin America, which aimed to increase the per capita annual income by 2.5%, establish democratic governments, eliminate adult illiteracy by 1970, stabilize prices to avoid inflation or deflation, and limit their financial independence. While the program failed in the long term (because the Presidents after Kennedy were not enthusiastic about implementing it), it did achieve success during the Kennedy years.

Some aspects, such as Kennedy's election campaign and his Space Program, are covered fascinatingly by Sorensen. Nevetheless, this work can hardly be considered a well-rounded biography, for the author virtually skips the first twenty-six years of Kennedy's life, as well as does not reveal almost anything about the key people who fell outside the narrow circle to which Kennedy and Sorensen belonged but who had crucial impact on the President at some point or another – his wife, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Nikita Khruschev, Fidel Castro etc.

Overall, KENNEDY is a highly compelling read, which, however, requires plenty of background knowledge about John F. Kennedy from the reader. It is a sympathetic, special outlook on the final eleven years of Kennedy's life that chronicles both the President's mundane daily tasks and his activities during the many crises his term was plagued with. If judged as a comprehensive, objective study, though, it, unfortunately, falls much too short. This one is definitely for Kennedy buffs. For those unfamiliar with him, I would rather recommend AN UNFINISHED LIFE – an outstanding biography of the President.

[Brian Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was 6 years old when President Kennedy was killed. I remember the announcement in school, and I remember watching the funeral procession on our small black and white television. It was only when I was an adult watching replays that I noticed his young son's salute as the hearse passed.

Based on the year of Sorenson's bio - 1965 - I knew going in that it was not going to be a tell-all book like post-Watergate bios. That's one favor that Richard Nixon and other corrupt officials of that era did for us - they put an end to the time when the press protected the images of important government officials. Even had Sorenson waited a decade to write this book, he specifically was never going to write anything inflammatory about JFK, because he had a long friendship with him, and saw Jackie often, so unless something had happened to completely rupture that trust, his biography was always going to be selective in its reporting. Sorenson was on Senator Kennedy's staff, and was known as his "alter-ego" for 11 years, becoming "Special Council" to him during his presidency. In the prologue he states that he will be omitting some facts in the interest of propriety.

It was fascinating to learn that before the Civil Rights Era, the democrats held a large majority in the South. And that at that time, the newspapers were overwhelmingly pro-republican.

Even though Sorenson alerted readers to his bias, I feel that his portrayal of JFK's personality still had to be missing something. Did he want us to think Kennedy was perfect ? I read pretty carefully and couldn't find any references to personalty traits that had negative connotations. Maybe stubbornness. Would it have been so bad to report that he did this or that, like we all do ?

What surprised me most was Kennedy's absolute insistence on upping nuclear weapon capabilities, conventional military force and the Army Special Forces trained in guerrilla warfare.

The section of the book that I most looked forward to was the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I wasn't disappointed. Riveting.

[Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not intend to write a review necessarily on this book. Instead I wish to meditate on President Kennedy, with this book as its best symbol. My reasoning is that now that we are at the 50th year mark after President Kennedy's death, his picture is everywhere again. Books are being released and re-released that emphasize nothing save the "juiciest" bits of Camelot that are either so overblown, or downright lies that I've gotten tired of reading the covers, much less hearing their contents. To summarize: hardly a year goes by without someone arguing that the Kennedys had Marilyn Monroe killed, or were just drugged up alcoholics paving their way from crisis to crisis, sleeping around, and engineering Vietnam. Recently, some disgusting book was released claiming JFK as the mantle of modern conservatism on the basis that he lowered taxes!
I'm sick of it all. No, he did not have Marilyn Monroe killed. Yes, President Kennedy did have affairs. They were not as wide-ranging as has been emphasized. No, he was not a drunk. No, he did not engineer, or escalate Vietnam. No, he was not a drug addict.
That is why I must state the most important and seldom mentioned facts: John F. Kennedy was a great man, and a great president. Whom he slept with does not matter to me, and did not in the least affect his policies. What matters to me are the things that he said, and the things that he did: he stood with steelworkers, challenged big business at every opportunity. He fostered peace, rather than war. He thought very often about the future, and how the present would affect those not yet born. He truly understood, more than any president since, the dangers of trigger happy patriotism. He worked diligently to promote racial tolerance, and end segregation in his time. He realized the perils of income disparity, and sought to redistribute wealth not towards the wealthy few, but downwards towards those that need it. What's more, he saved the world: Cuba, and Berlin. A lesser man: a Nixon, or god-forbid a Reagan in his same situation would have obliterated civilization all in the name of machismo.
Ted Sorensen was there. He helped craft the words that Kennedy spoke. The words that we ought to have fulfilled, or at the very least remembered. His biography of the President is sorely needed now when politicos have been gaga for Reagan's Mr. Magoo performance as president-the best casting gig he ever got frankly. To me this book is a reminder that the nation and the world has been an increasingly crappy place since he was murdered, and that we should have had better.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2017...

Theodore Sorensen’s “Kennedy” was published in 1965, little more than a year after JFK’s assassination. Sorensen served as chief legislative aide to Senator Kennedy and as Special Counsel, adviser and speechwriter to President Kennedy. He also reportedly wrote or edited much of JFK’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Profiles in Courage.” Sorensen died in 2010 at the age of 82.

Sorensen’s 758-page biography of Kennedy is nontraditional in many ways: by virtue of its extraordinary proximity to both its subject and the times, for its strictly thematic coverage and for its commitment to revealing the inner workings of a presidency at the expense of broader context and character development.

The unique access Sorensen provides readers is undoubtedly the book’s best attribute…as well as its most significant shortcoming. During most of its twenty-five chapters, the reader is treated to a fascinating “fly on the wall” account of the Kennedy presidency: from mundane daily tasks to the chaotic excitement of crisis. Sorensen examines issues in a consistently clear, sober and extremely organized way…but one which sometimes proves dry and dull.

The author’s affection for his former boss is quickly obvious; Sorensen admits to an affinity for Kennedy during the book’s first pages. Because of this close bond between author and subject it is not surprising that many of Kennedy’s weaknesses are glossed over or explained away…and that his most jarring flaws are ignored altogether.

And while Sorensen waives the biographer’s ultimate right to judge his subject’s legacy – astutely admitting he is too close Kennedy to provide a balanced assessment – there is never any doubt what his verdict would be.

Because Sorensen tends to report only what he observed, the first thirty-six years of Kennedy’s life are covered with great haste. But more unfortunate for readers new to JFK is that relatively little is revealed of the most compelling and important personalities who fell outside the tight Kennedy/Sorensen circle (Jackie Kennedy, LBJ and Khrushchev, for example). These figures wander in and out of the narrative but never come to life with full vigor.

While each of the topics Sorensen covers during Kennedy’s presidency are examined thoughtfully and carefully (civil rights and economics issues domestically, the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Crisis and numerous other issues internationally) there is a lack of chronological or historical context to aid the reader. And the author’s discussion of Kennedy’s Cabinet selection, in particular, lacks the penetrating insight I would expect from an insider with Sorensen’s perspective.

But the author’s revelations about many aspects of the Kennedy presidency prove fascinating. The chapters covering Kennedy’s campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1960, the voting forensics behind Kennedy’s presidential election, and Kennedy’s commitment to the U.S. space program are notably excellent. And readers interested in observing the behind-the-scenes daily routine of a presidential administration will be delighted.

Overall, Ted Sorensen’s “Kennedy” offers a compelling journey for readers interested in (and already somewhat familiar with) John F. Kennedy. Evaluated as a unique, if sympathetic, window into the last eleven years of JFK’s life and inner circle, this book is often outstanding. But judged as a comprehensive biography offering a balanced assessment of its subject’s successes and failures, it falls undeniably short.

Overall rating: 3½ stars

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways, if you’re hoping to pick up a thing or two by reading about other speechwriters, it’s probably a mistake to start with Ted Sorensen’s biography of Kennedy — Sorensen, after all, had the type of working relationship with JFK that any speechwriter would only be so lucky to have.

So, if you start with Sorensen and hold up his writing partnership with Kennedy as the ideal relationship to have, then you’re going to have one hell of an uphill battle to climb if you want to emulate what they had.

Sorensen wasn’t just Kennedy’s chief speechwriter — he was considered Special Counsel to the late President; he had an insider’s access that was developed over the months he spent traveling and campaigning with JFK during the late 1950s.

He wasn’t trained as a writer, but in time, he became one.

“The Kennedy style of speech-writing — our style, I am not reluctant to say, for he never pretended that he had time to prepare first drafts for all of his speeches — evolved gradually over the years,” Sorensen wrote. (p.61)

The most important thing that you get from reading this? Sorensen had a partnership with Kennedy when it came to writing; what’s more is that Kennedy actually trusted him — which is such a huge deal.

When you actually listen to and watch JFK’s 1961 Inaugural Address and read about how Sorensen was charged with helping to draft it, it’s just really inspiring. (For me, at least.)

“He asked me to read all the past Inaugural Addresses (which I discovered to be a largely undistinguished lot, with some of the best eloquence emanating from some of our worst Presidents). He asked me to study the secret of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (my conclusion, which his Inaugural applied, was that Lincoln never used a two- or three-syllable word where a one-syllable word would do, and never used two or three words where one word would do).” (p.240)

He even takes us through at least three versions of the famous Address and shows the reader how many of the most memorable passages can be traced to earlier Kennedy speeches and writings.

“Kennedy” is so much more than a book about his speeches; with Sorensen, you can see that Kennedy really counted on him and relied on him.

In an interview with TVO’s Steve Paiken, Sorensen reflected: “Fortunately, I was called on by the President to get my ideas on a crisis many times — I would sit in the room, I would watch other experts brief him, I would see him nodding, agreeing, asking questions. It was quite easy for me to go down to my office a few steps away and put into words the positions and the issues that I’d heard discussed in the Oval Office. That’s completely different from the hired hand who has an office across the street from the White House and who may not know the president and his policy positions that well and has no opportunity to participate in the formulation of those decisions.”

This 762-page tome is extremely detailed and Sorensen is clear from the very beginning that the book “praises John Kennedy and what he has done, not merely out of loyalty and affection, but out of deep pride and conviction.” (p.6)

The faithful insider’s detail in this book is breathtaking — though, at times, bogged down by minutiae that might have been better left out.

It’s just interesting because I’m starting to read Peggy Noonan’s account of Ronald Reagan and to switch gears and read about another speechwriter.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being in near daily contact with JFK for the last 11 years of his life, Sorensen truly had unique access to his thoughts and deeds, fears, hopes and frustrations. This is not, as the author notes in the opening pages, an "objective" bio. It is a fascinating, revealing and superbly written (not surprisingly, given Sorensen role as JFK's major speechwriter) insider account of a smart, compassionate and ambitious President.

Among the highlights for this reader include:
JFK's self-description as a "practical...pragmatic liberal" with "faith in man's ability...reason and judgment" who put the public interest over the private interest when it came to policy issues.
JFK's understanding of the Constitution as a living document as: "all its clauses had to be interpreted by men and had to be made to work by men, and...[have] to be made to work today in an entirely different world from the day in which it was written."
JFK's leadership abilities, towering over all of those who followed him.

Kennedy applied a liberal, rational approach to a hard-to-conceive pile of foreign policy challenges (Laos, Berlin, Vietnam, Cuba and oh yes, the spiralling Cold War in the early, extremely dangerous days of nuclear weapons). In addition, JFK faced serious economic issues and the building Civil Rights movement. Sorensen places him of the right side of these, naturally, though he does not spare JFK from deserved criticism for allowing the Bay of Pigs fiasco (inherited but still on his watch) to proceed. Then too, there was the intransigence of not only Republicans, but almost all of the Southern Democrats as well.

That Kennedy accomplished as much as he did in as short a time as he had is quite amazing. What he could have accomplished over 8 years is impossible to determine and something to forever regret.

[Kristi Thielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A justifiably famous biography of Kennedy's Washington years by his close associate Theodore C. Sorensen. Sorensen served as a speechwriter and is the putative author of Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage."

Written in 1965 when the pain of Kennedy's assassination was still felt - especially by close associates like Sorensen - and strongly supported by the President widow, the book rarely alludes to any deficiencies in Kennedy's character, much less articulates them. For this reason, the early chapters, in particular, are occasionally a bit much, even for ardent Kennedy fans.

Subsequent chapters, especially those about the Bay of Pigs, the Civil Rights movement and the Cuban Missile Crisis are more engrossing. The two Cuban "bookends" to his short tenure demonstrate how rapidly he learned from mistakes and how quickly he was maturing.

Information about public appearances he made, especially on the campaign trail and at press conferences, serve to remind readers of the one truly salient thing about JFK: We've never had, since his death, a President who could think on his feet so quickly and so wittily. Never.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me months to get through, but was well worth the time and effort. Sorensen gives an inside look at Kennedy as a man, Senator, and President, writing from the point of view of how Kennedy himself might like to frame his own legacy. The book describes the policies and politics of Kennedy just as much as the man, giving the book more substance than many books about JFK and his family.

However, the book, written in 1965, feels rather dated. The grief of Kennedy's death still seems too fresh for perspective to have set in, and Sorensen writes through a lens of hero-worship. He doesn't yet have capacity to write about Kennedy's personal flaws and indiscretions, or the problems left unfinished for the Johnson Administration.

[Clem · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was 13 years old, I was fortunate enough to take a trip with my family to Walt Disney world. It was a wonderful, magical experience that has stayed with me for decades ever since. The only downside to that excursion was that anytime that I have ever visited any other theme park (Six Flags, Opryland, Astorworld, etc.), it’s been a major letdown. Nothing can ever compare to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

The reason say this, is that I can’t help but wonder if reading the mega volume series on Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro has potentially done the same thing to my literal taste buds. Those books were so enriching, that I’m thinking that every thing else that I’ll read on similar subject matters won’t have the same effect. Sadly, when I read Ted Sorenson’s Kennedy, this is exactly what I felt like. It just didn’t compare. It just couldn’t compare.

Ironically, it was the references to JFK in the latter two Robert Caro volumes that started my interest in LBJ’s predecessor. I wanted to learn more about the man, the nation’s 35 president. What was it that made him tick? And how did he come from relative obscurity in the late 1950’s to be, arguably, the most popular president of the 20th century?

To be fair, this book has several, what I would call, disadvantages from the start. First, the piece was written in 1964, shortly after Kennedy was tragically murdered. Also, the book was written by one of his closest insiders and speechmakers, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this book is horribly biased. Horribly biased.

Oh how it’s biased. It doesn’t help when Sorenson includes a ridiculous weak forward to a 2009 reissue of this book that could have been better written by a high school sophomore. In this new puerile forward, Sorenson essentially says that Kennedy was a great, flawless president, and every other president we’ve had since (and he goes through them in detail) has sucked. Well, this ridiculous rant is almost enough to turn you off from the main body of work immediately, but fortunately the main piece isn’t as juvenile. Perhaps the author was getting senile. Sadly, though, the book is simply too one-sided. Sorenson was obviously a disciple that thought Kennedy was some sort of god, and would probably gladly drink the man’s bathwater if it was asked of him. Some of the syrupy praise that he lauds on the man over and over again is simply too much to stomach.

It’s not that you really want the book to be a slinger of mud, I’m not sure a book such as that could have been released and/or accepted so shortly after the abrupt end of Camelot. The public really didn’t want to read about stolen elections, Carlos Marcello and the mafia, nor Marilyn Monroe at this point, so it’s perfectly acceptable that Sorenson stays clear of the darker side of the man’s life. It’s simply that every event in the man’s presidency tries to show that Kennedy was simply infallible, and even The Bay of Pigs disaster is blamed on everyone else except Kennedy himself (to JFK’s credit, he takes much of the blame for the fiasco in this retrospective, but Sorenson will hear nothing of it.)

Then there’s the shear volume of this work. Since I read it on a Kindle, I can’t accurately state the page length, but I believe the printed work was over 900 pages. Sorenson could have easily trimmed this by about one third. He simply goes into too much detail. Speaking of detail, this book really isn’t about the life of Kennedy, but rather the life of President Kennedy. There’s very little about the man’s past here, which makes the length more unbearable. I don’t think anyone could successfully write a book over 900 pages detailing only three years of a presidency.

I have to concede, though, that maybe this is how books were written back in 1964. I’m guessing that authors didn’t have to necessarily have their printed words singing and dancing in front of a reader keeping their attention. In other words, people were more content reading a long, drawn out volume, simply because there wasn’t much else to do back in 1964. so news sources and books like this didn’t have to be too concerned with keeping the reader’s undivided focus.

At times, I didn’t feel like I was reading a biography, I felt like I was reading a 900 page Wikipedia article. It’s amazing just how bored a reader can be trying to digest entire, drawn out chapters that discuss Kennedy’s influence and involvement in the U.S. Steel industry. This brings new meaning to the word “dull”.

And everything is covered here that the man had his hand in from 1960-1963. Everything. Some of the more newsworthy events, such as The Cuban Missile Crises, actually do make a refreshing read. Perhaps because this event is so predominant in people’s minds, even 50 years after the fact. Since Sorenson goes into so much detail, this would be an excellent source for a student’s research paper.

It’s interesting to read about the involvement and references to Vietnam. Remember, no one really knew what or where Vietnam was in 1964,and it certainly didn’t bring up the same connotations as it does now, so I found these portions a good read as well. Again, it’s very clear that Kennedy was not as “Dove-ish” as some would have you believe, and he was well prepared to do whatever it took to keep the communists out of South Vietnam. Still, although there are some that don’t like to entertain such a notion, we simply don’t know what Kennedy would have done in Southeast Asia had he lived.

Another interesting thing about this book is that since Ted Sorenson was a professional speechwriter, there are many portions of Kennedy’s actual speeches sprinkled through the pages - as well as some of his entire speeches. This doesn’t really hinder the book, it just seems a bit strange since this is not a norm in historical biographies such as this. In fact, many of Kennedy’s amusing anecdotes that he would quip during his presidency are included here, and the man simply had a strong way with words when illustrating key points, or responding to criticism from an opponent.

Overall, I didn’t think this book was that great, and thought it could have been much better. This is, however, a great compendium of Kennedy’s accomplishments and overall comings and goings of the three years in his office. I just wish the author would have practiced the art of summarizing a bit more.

[Vincent Lombardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1965, two memoirs about JFK and his presidency were published by two of his closest advisors: "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House" by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and "Kennedy" by Theodore C. Sorensen. Schlesinger's book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography, is the better book simply because it is better written. Schlesinger was an academic historian, but, despite his academic background, wrote clearly and elegantly like a popular historian, with a flair and sense of drama. His book is over 1,000 pages, but I read every word and never found it a slog.

Unfortunately, "Kennedy" is often a slog. Although Sorensen helped write some of JFK's most eloquent speeches, his prose is workmanlike and seldom elegant. In fact, he often provides laundry lists of facts instead of weaving facts into a coherent narrative. I often found the book tedious.

There is a lot of good information in "Kennedy", some of which may be missing in "A Thousand Days", but, if you had to choose between these two books, then read "A Thousand Days".

[Jeffrey D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

I really enjoyed this book. It made me feel like I was on the campaign and in the White House with President John F Kennedy

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book in January 2012 and finished it in January 2016. Admittedly, in the beginning it was a bit dry and between that and the length, I'm guessing those two reasons are why I stopped reading steadily. However, I would read a bit here and there over the years and slowly made my way through it. At the start of 2016 though, I was determined to finish it and so I have.

Theodore Sorensen was President Kennedy's speech writer and special counsel. His love and admiration for a man he had known for many years shines through in his detailed look at President Kennedy's life and career, mostly the latter. It was a bit dry at the start but picks up during the campaign and actual presidency. Learning in detail about what he accomplished, his views and his passions for peace and progress make me mourn for what was lost on November 22nd, 1963. But he accomplished a great deal for the short time he had, and I'm thankful for the fact that he did his part to prevent a nuclear war during a difficult time in history. May his name and his memory live on.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I learned a lot and the President's humor and personality shines in this loving tribute to him.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant early biography of Kennedy, published in 1965. Strictly dealing with the political journey, briefly as Congressman and Senator, culminating in his presidency, from Inauguration through to November of 1963. There are so many literary choices for study of JFK's term in office from Schlesinger, Dallek, Talbot, Reeves, Mathews, Hersh etc. It has to be said that unlike other biographers of JFK, Ted Sorensen was himself a great and gifted man.
What I feel stands out about this book, is the author was not just at the shoulder of John Kennedy throughout his political career, but that he was a valued advisor and speechwriter, and that intimacy is conveyed clearly throughout these seven hundred and sixty pages. Some may see this intimacy as a biased view.
I admit that I found some of the American domestic chapters such as 'The Fight Against Recession' and 'The Fight Against Inflation' difficult to digest. As Sorensen admits, there is a certain arbitrary nature to the chapters of his book. Nevertheless, like many long hard upward climbs, once completed, the view is amazing.

[Charmaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are all familiar with tales of the famous JFK.
I started reading and hoping that I would get to know JFK a little differently.
I didn't want to validate the stories of him being a womens' man and all that. The theory conspiracies, well there would always be that.

I don't care too much about American politics but hey, there was no way I was gonna get away from that. As I kept on reading, the first half was just about American politics and I got a lil' disappointed.

Little did I know that what I wanted was exactly what I got. This book is about his term in office, the decisions he had to take, the challenges he experienced. Through all of this, I got to see his ideals, dreams, weaknesses and strength, his integrity and his love of humanity.
When you see someone doing the one thing they believe they were born to do, then you see the truth of that man. This book showed me what I wanted to see about JKF.

[Matthew Bartlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore Sorensen does a remarkable job of writing the memoir that JFK would have written. Rather it is his memoir and account of JFK. It is the very first biography and therefore the first draft of history and is incredibly detailed. It does not recount a family history, but retells what the public knew about JFK at that time shortly after his death. The book takes you through his time in the Senate, the 1956 convention, the 1960 convention and campaign and presidency. All very detailed and the most engaging part is his description of the Cuban Missile Crisis. (If you are a die hard Kennedy scholar, like me, you might start with this one and see the evolution of a biography. After reading this one, read "A Thousand Days" and "An Unfinished Life.")

[Dave Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book...obviously, a biography of JFK written by his primary speechwriter is going to be a bit biased - but it did provide a good overview of his years in the Senate and the Presidency. I especially enjoyed the stories about the Presidential campaign of 1960 - very interesting inside information.

[Tony Manera · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is certainly well written and offers a great deal of insight into Kennedy's achievements. The only drawback is that it does not address the negatives. According to Sorensen's account, JFK could do no wrong. For a truly objective account of JFK's life, one has to read other accounts, by more objective observers.
Tony Manera

[Maggi LeDuc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it took literally months, but was well worth the slog. A dense book, I cared more about the domestic issues covered in the first half than the foreign, Cold War related content of the second. Overall, very in depth and interesting however!

[Thamrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The youngest man and the first Catholic ever elected, 43-year-old John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States.

[Anna]

This was the BEST book ever!!

[Bernard Cenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best JFK biography around since 1965.

[Danmcgohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Not subjective in the least. Mr. Sorensen's admiration Kennedy is glaring thrpugh out the book. Some goos personal insights.

[Bryan Woerner]

High on praise and light on criticism. The episodic nature of the writing is hard to follow too. I didn't feel like I got a good picture of JFK.

[Delina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant detailed insight into the man himself.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me a long time to read but well worth the effort. One of the best Kennedy biographies, focusing mainly on his presidency and less on his assassination.

[Jane Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

fairly good book. Some parts were hard to get through.

[Judith F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an infinite and enduring application of the political rally in the history of the United States. Anyone interested in politics should read this. Excellent read.

[Chris Fluit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this biography. When it's good, it's really, really good. Sorensen is also surprisingly aware and upfront about its weaknesses. Yet those weaknesses exist. The book is weakest when dealing with foreign policy issues that, with the exception of the Cuban missile crisis, the author wasn't directly involved with. For example, the section on the summit with Khrushchev reads like a stenographer's summary. It's also too bad that the author decided not to write about Kennedy's early years though, again, he's at least honest that he's starting with Kennedy's first Senate campaign. However, the book's strengths are numerous. The author gives us a window into the inner workings of the White House staff that's ignored in virtually any other presidential biography. He also does a great job of including Kennedy's personal life, providing an insightful portrait of Jacqueline and fun anecdotes about their children. I was particularly impressed with his story structure and engaging style. He wrote about Kennedy's presidency topically rather than chronologically yet avoided being repetitious. The aforementioned section on the Cuban missile crisis was riveting. And he even kept my attention while writing about usually dry topics such as fiscal and budgetary issues.

[David Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, of course it's brilliantly written-- that should be evident right off just by looking at the name of the author. The other thing that goes without mentioning, is the reader knows before even opening to the first page that this one is going to be different in that again-- look who wrote it. Ted SOrensen was known as Jack Kennedy's alter ego-- undstanding his thoughts and speech patterns, every nuance of his character so well that he spent years as not only his speech writer but so close that only Bobby Kennedy had a better understanding of the 35th President of the United States. What makes this book different from even the very best biographies (think Schlessinger and Doris Kearns Goodwin), is that rather than a day by day or even top events review, Sorensen details all that JFK did in his brief term. We all may know about the Test Bomb Treaty, abut Bay of Pigs, about Civil Rights and the March on Washington but very few understand what items he pressed for, what he did for education, why he started the physical fitness awareness, all the bills he promoted, pressed for etc etc etc. And considering who the author is and his special magic with a word-- the result is fascinating and never once grows dry or boring-- never once do you find your mind drifting and wondering what you're going to read next.

[Joe Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

How suddenly a life can be cut short. That is the lesson I took away from “Kennedy”.

I underestimated Ted Sorenson. I shouldn’t have. One doesn’t get to be Counselor to the President and speech writer without having some skills with words. Nevertheless I strongly disliked this book and allowed that to color my perception of Sorenson’s skills. I did, at least, up until the final paragraph.

The final few chapters start to build momentum as Sorenson depicts Kennedy’s resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the sudden relaxation of tension with the Soviet Union, the negotiations over atmospheric nuclear testing, and the successful signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The tone of the book changes to reflect Kennedy’s relief at successfully navigating these crises. Sorenson chronicles Kennedy’s trip out west to promote the treaty and the dawning new era of détente with the Soviet Union.

Then, he treats the reader to this final, concluding paragraph.

On November 20 he transmitted an optimistic report to the Congress on our participation in the United Nations. On November 21 he started another tour into the heartland of the opposition, this time in Texas. That evening, in Houston, he talked of “an America that is both powerful and peaceful, with a people that are both prosperous and just.” The next morning, in Fort Worth, he expressed confidence that “because we are stronger…our chances for security, our chances for peace, are better than they have been in the past.” That afternoon, in Dallas, he was shot dead.

The introduction of Kennedy’s assassination is sudden, abrupt, and shocking. This is the first mention of Kennedy’s death in the entire book. It’s effective. It’s very effective. I’m not sure I even like Kennedy that much but, for the first time, I felt the emotional impact of his assassination. It was an unpleasant dash of cold water and I felt the shocking finality of a life suddenly snipped short. A life ended without a chance to say goodbye, without the opportunity for a final hug or smile, without training a successor, or squeezing the hand of a loved one. A life that suddenly, irrevocably, ends.

For that, I’ll forgive Sorenson for much of the pain I felt while reading his biography of John F. Kennedy.

Unfortunately, it can’t make up for all of the book’s shortcomings. Like I said before, I really didn’t like this biography that much. I read it expecting to get an introduction to Kennedy, his life, his time, his achievements, and his death. What I got was a hagiographic love letter from a devoted worshipper. Perhaps you feel I’m being too harsh. Allow me, please, to illustrate.

It will not be easy for historians to compare John Kennedy with his predecessors and successors, for he was unique in his imprint upon the office: the first to be elected at so young an age, the first from the Catholic faith, the first to take office in an age of mutual nuclear capabilities, the first to reach literally for the moon and beyond, the first to prevent a new recession or inflation in modern peacetime, the first to pronounce that all racial segregation and discrimination must be abolished as a matter of right, the first to meet our adversaries in a potentially nuclear confrontation, the first to take a solid step toward nuclear arms control—and the first to die at so young an age.

And, again.

History and posterity must decide. Customarily they reserve the mantle of greatness for those who win great wars, not those who prevent them. But in my unobjective view I think it will be difficult to measure John Kennedy by any ordinary historical yardstick. For he was an extraordinary man, an extraordinary politician and an extraordinary President. Just as no chart on the history of weapons could accurately reflect the advent of the atom, so it is my belief that no scale of good and bad Presidents can rate John Fitzgerald Kennedy. A mind so free of fear and myth and prejudice, so opposed to cant and clichés, so unwilling to feign or be fooled, to accept or reflect mediocrity, is rare in our world—and even rarer in American politics. Without demeaning any of the great men who have held the Presidency in this century, I do not see how John Kennedy could be ranked below any one of them.

Much of the book is written in that vein. It grew wearisome after the first 3 chapters. It was dreadfully dull by the end of the book. In Sorenson’s estimation, Kennedy could do no wrong. It wasn’t enough that he was a superb President. Sorenson was convinced that Kennedy could have been his own best Secretary of State, his own best Ambassador, his own best Press Secretary, his own best speech writer, his own best Chief of Staff, etc. The only thing holding Kennedy back from single handedly running the government the way it deserved to be run was a simple lack of time.

Thankfully, the book was not without its redeeming points. The language was, occasionally, poetic. For example:

But the President was upset, and sternly told Jacqueline later never to do that … and not to worry about his future. On November 22 his future merged with his past, and we will never know what might have been. His own inner drive, as well as the swift pace of our times, had enabled him to do more in the White House in three years than many had done in eight—to live a fuller life in forty-six years than most men do in eighty. But that only makes all the greater our loss of the years he was denied.

And I did finish the book with a better understanding of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin crisis, the Bay of Pigs, and other significant events than when I started. So my time spent reading it wasn’t an entire waste. But it was a trudge, not a pleasure.

If you’re looking for a serious introduction to President John F. Kennedy, I’d advise you to look elsewhere. If you already love President John F. Kennedy and simple want to relive the love, this is most definitely the book for you.